September 29, 2002
The Rev. Dr. David M. Wendel
Saint Luke’s Lutheran Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado
Lessons: Daniel 10:10-14, 12:1-3; Revelation 12:7-12; St. Luke 10:17-20
Our first lesson for this Festival of St. Michael and All Angels begins with Daniel’s words, “A hand touched me and roused me to my hands and knees.” A kind of odd beginning, because there’s no explanation for why Daniel is evidently laying on the ground, and needs to be “roused to his hands and knees”! If we look at chapter 10, in the verses before this, we understand what’s happening here. Daniel writes, “On the twenty-fourth day of the first month, as I was standing on the bank of the great river, that is, the Tigris, I lifted up my eyes and looked, and behold, a man clothed in linen, whose loins were girded with gold of Uphaz. His body was like “beryl”, a hard, fine precious mineral, like emerald or amethyst, and his face was like the appearance of lightning, his eyes like flaming torches, his arms and legs like the gleam of burnished bronze, and the sound of his words like the noise of a multitude. So I was left alone, “Daniel writes, “and saw this great vision, and no strength was left in me; my radiant appearance was fearfully changed, and I retained no strength. Then I heard the sound of his words, and I fell on my face, as in a deep sleep, with my face to the ground.”
This, vision, this appearance of the archangel, Michael, to the prophet Daniel, is the reason that Daniel is on the floor, face down, struck into a kind of sleep, a trance that leaves him weak and trembling. So much so, that even after being told to get up and pay attention, Daniel tells us that he’s still trembling! And the archangel Michael has to reassure him, saying to him, “Do not fear, Daniel!”
What a powerful presence Michael must have been, to have caused such a response in Daniel! A powerful, presence, yet also surely an awesome presence, with a body like precious stone, face like lightning, eyes like flaming torches, arms and legs like burnished bronze, and voice, like the sounds of a multitude. I can’t imagine such a presence, standing right there, before me. And yet, I also can’t help but compare that biblical description of the angel, Michael, with most of what we see and hear about angels in popular culture. Have you seen the painting of a cherubic child, lying asleep in bed, with a kindly angel standing guard right beside? Have you seen the bumper sticker that says, “Don’t driver faster than your guardian angel can fly?” Have you seen the little angel statues at Hobby Lobby, that look for all the world like soft, beautiful women, wings outstretched, almost fairy-like as they appear ready to flit here and there lighting candles and strewing flowers along our path? And don’t even mention Michael as depicted by John Travolta! The archangel Michael doesn’t appear, fairy-like in the biblical description, nor could you imagine him, as in the bumper sticker, flying along behind our speeding car, trying to catch up to us. In popular culture, angels have been re-cast and re-shaped and re-imagined to the point where they’re not really recognizable, when compared with scripture. And that’s fine, if what you want, in an angel, is a kindly companion who looks after you, picks you up when you skin your knee, and flies along beside you so you won’t be afraid of the dark. But if what you want is the truth about angels, then maybe this festival of St. Michael and All Angels is just the thing, because if you’re paying attention, you can’t miss some very powerful stuff, about the truth about angels. And what stuff is that?
First, that angels are God’s servants, not ours. As we said last week, the great temptation for us sinful, self-centered humans, is to think the world, and indeed, the universe revolves around us. It’s no surprise that given the fact that the bible does talk about God sending angels to watch over us, many have made the short jump to thinking that God sends angels to serve us, as if they’re here to do our bidding, clean up our life-messes, attend to us, and our needs. While no one can say exactly what angels do for us, or how they fulfill God’s will, on our behalf, what we do know is that they seek to fulfill God’s will, not ours. We know that God, in His wisdom, sets the limits and boundaries, establishes His plan for our ultimate good, using saints, angels and the whole heavenly host to bring that plan to fruition, for us. So, we are to trust God’s will, and to trust that it is God who will direct His angels, leaving us, with our limited understanding, out of it. God has created the angels, just as He has created us—and so they are His servants, not ours. That’s the first thing scripture reveals about angels.
The second thing is that they are
awe-some—and not in the sense that we currently use that word; angels are not awe-some, as in neat, or
cool. Angels are awe-some in the sense
that they inspire awe and fear; were we
to see an angel, their very presence might send us to the floor, awe-struck, or
cause us to tremble and shake. In most
every passage in scripture that mentions angels, even when angels are sent to help, or to bring a message from
God, still, there is fear and fright.
From the experience of Daniel, to that of Zechariah in the temple when
Zechariah was troubled by the angel’s presence, and fear fell upon him, to the
angel Gabriel’s visit to Mary, when Gabriel had to calm Mary, saying, “Do not
be afraid”, angels, by their very appearance, create fear and trembling. They are super-natural beings whose presence
reflects the majesty and power of the God whom they serve—with faces like
lightning, and eyes like flaming torches.
That’s the second thing that scripture teaches about angels.
And the third, and final thing, as far as this sermon is concerned, is that they are powerful, but not nearly so powerful—as God! It’s significant that to defeat the devil and Satan, the great dragon, that ancient serpent, God sent the archangel, Michael. In current popular understandings, Satan is most often seen as a demi-god, equal to the one true God in power and might. In most movies and books today, you get the impression that Satan is a real threat to God, especially when God is presented as a bumbling old fool, like George Burns in the “Oh, God!” movies; well-meaning, and kindly, but relatively innocuous. Well, scripture proclaims anything but that! Because scripture reveals, clearly, that while Satan is simply a rebellious angel, himself, God sends an angel to defeat Satan. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon. Satan is no match for God. The Devil is but a troublesome angel, and though he must be defeated, though he must be cast out of heaven, it is God’s servant, the archangel Michael, who accomplishes it. And he accomplishes it, by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony, the word of the testimony of the saints who gave their lives to witness to Jesus. All of which is meant to show how powerful is God and His creatures, and how definitive was the defeat of Satan. All of which is to call us, to as it says in Revelation, “Rejoice then, you heavens and those who dwell in them!” Because the archangel Michael and his angels have defeated Satan and his followers, and he has done so by the blood of Jesus, and the witness of Jesus’ followers! And for this, we can rejoice. For this, we are to rejoice—that Satan has fallen like lightening, from heaven. And though he now, is on earth for a short time, trying to wreak havoc on earth, he knows his time is short—the ultimate victory has been won, by Jesus’ death and resurrection. God will prevail! And we can, even now, even in the face of Satan’s last gasp attempts at disrupting God’s victory, rejoice-- that God and His angels are victorious, and our names are written, with the blood of the Lamb, in the book of life. Which, as Jesus says, is truly cause for rejoicing. Is truly, cause for celebrating the victory God has won for us, through Jesus Christ. Is truly cause for giving thanks, not so much for angels and archangels, but for the blood of the Lamb, and that the Lamb has written my name, and your name, in the book of life everlasting.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen!